August 2004
Finance, Industry, Media, Police The share price of a number of companies in the city dropped following fears of possible biological attacks against the Federal Bank led to a panic on the market. The attacks were focussed upon the San Francisco branch where a quantity of what was believed to be Anthrax had been released in the vault (although further rumours have commented that this was a front for a second attack upon the banks computers). Further confusion was caused when threats were made against other banks, leading to the closure of most of the West Coast of America and a subsequent drop in market confidence. Investigations into who perpetrated the attack are set to continue. Finance, Industry, Media Whilst the rest of the local market recovered from the unforeseen events in America, Asharaka found that its position was strengthened due to its lack of links with the American markets. Indeed, Asharaka was one of only two companies unaffected by the attacks in America, the other being the newly established “Saturn Xi”. Saturn Xi look set to revolutionise the way in which electronic data is delivered to your front door and have been set up in direct competition to Asharaka and Reed Communications. Little more is known about the company, although it is believed to have been established using a combination of European and Eastern money. Occult, Police, Street Prior to the attacks against financial institutions on the West Coast of America threats of the same had appeared on a number of supposed anarchist websites (and reputedly a number of newspapers and television stations) warning of such an attack. So far the authorities have refused to be drawn on the matter, but a number of these websites have since been closed down pending further investigations by the authorities. Media, Police, Street, Underworld Evidence of a links between the “Electric Lady” and The Daughters of the Desert continue to be strengthened as news of a number of changed policies within the gang begun to emerge. Whilst the gang established a name for itself last year due to its willingness to carry out its dirty work as close as possible to the action, they seem to have established new methods along with new leadership, and have been linked to a number of car bombings across the city. In other gang related news it would appear that the final nail has been driven into the coffin of the former Sandernacht Group after the remaining members turned themselves over to The Constabulary in exchange for immunity from prosecution if they aided the gaining of evidence against both the Gambino’s and The Daughters of the Desert. Street, Underworld Don’t mess with The Daughters of the Desert, don’t even think about it! They’ve become even more vicious since that “Electric Lady” took over, now they’ll blow you up after they’ve knifed you! One guy I know thought it was all talk, you know, just rumour to keep people out of their territory. He’s now in hospital with no knee caps. They sedated him, tied him to a chair and trilled two six inch nails through his knees. Then they set fire to the building and woke him up. You can guess what happened. And all of that was just because he chose to walk down the wrong street. Media, Street, Underworld With the fall of the Sandernacht Group, the battle lines between The Daughters of the Desert and the Gambino’s have been drawn. However, the Gambino’s are even more disadvantaged this time, with their territory being limited to the north of the A500. Even worse, they seem to be having to share their territory with another gang who have supposedly followed Asharaka into the city (rumours that they may have been linked have now been quashed following a thorough auditing of the company’s income by the authorities). Nothing is known about this third group, not even a name, although it is rumoured that they are led by an individual known as “The Gangmaster” (a link to the slave traders of old may also have been established). Meanwhile, the newly strengthened Daughters have begun to capitalise on their new found territory, increasing their profits. Health, High Society, Media, Police, Street, Underworld Remember “Milk”? After supplies of the drug supposedly dried up last year it would appear that someone has been busy manufacturing it again. Rumours that a new source of “Milk” may have found its way onto the market began to emerge last month, but were unconfirmed. However since then over a quarter of a tonne has been seized by The Constabulary, and although its method of manufacture is still unknown, scientific progress (as well as data recovered from the former premises of Castelan) has allowed the authorities to date the manufacture to within a five day period. Hospitals have been put on alert for possible cases of overdose following a number of high profile suicides attributed to the drug last year. Legal, Media, Police, University What did happen to Sandernacht? Why did such a powerful individual allow himself to be killed in such a manner? These questions will hopefully be answered at an inquest into the events to be held by The Constabulary into the rise in gang related violence following the death of the enigmatic leader. The inquest, which is being carried out in cooperation with members of Special Branch and members of the universities Psychology department, will focus on how the control of the city’s gangs has disintegrated following his death and what can be done to stem the problem. The results of the inquest are expected to be published in the New Year. Health, Media, Police, University With “Milk” once again finding its way onto the market, the city’s health authority (along with specialist from the universities) have once again begun to investigate the manner in which it is produced. Although research into the drug (and the possibility of developing an antidote) has continued, samples taken during the height of last years supply had begun to wane, a disturbing prospect given that no further ground had been gained on either front. However, The Constabulary has since allowed access to samples seized over the last month, allowing research to continue. No statements have been made with regards the research for the last six months. Media, Occult, University Whilst everyone is busy saying that the don’t have any further information regarding the drug “Milk” and that research needs to continue, the truth may be that what they’ve found may be to disturbing for public consumption. Rumours have begun to emerge from the labs that the drug contains trace quantities of human blood, along with small quantities of silicon and carbon. More worrying still (if it is true) are the things that have been discovered by accident; that the drug is a perfect conductor at room temperature, that it can carry an electrical charge and that it is possible to store data in binary form within the liquid (although no means of successfully reading the information afterwards has yet been found). Bureaucracy, Finance, Health, Industry, Media, Politics, University With the emergence once again of “Milk” onto the market, local hospitals and universities have asked for increased funding into research of the drug. This request apparently follows research that indicates that whoever is manufacturing the drug this time (no link has been established to The Daughters of the Desert this time) is doing so in larger quantities than last time and may have the potential to flood the market with the product. However, more funding is unlikely to be forthcoming due to the cost of repairing the sewer system recently. Private funding for the research is now being considered. High Society, Legal, Media, Police For two days last month the city held its collective breathe has Commander Jameson took the stand for the start of the trial of Andrew Sant. Sant appeared (along with his legal support team from Audax) to plead “Not Guilty” to charges of Treason Against the State, Treason Against the Crown, Incitement of Racial Hatred (although against whom has not yet been established), Incitement of Violence, Genocide and (laughably given the rest of the charges) Breach of the Peace. Commander Jameson took the stand to describe the manner in which the city had been found by his troops following the events of December. His description (along with photographic evidence) of mass killings perpetrated by Castelan, detention facilities for “Undesirables” drew a shocked response from some members of the court. The trial has since seen over fifty witnesses, including many ex-Castelan personnel who have been given immunity from prosecution if they testify against Sant. Sant’s defence is set to start next week. Legal, Media, Police So far Andrew Sant’s trial has thrown up few surprises (save for the sheer level of brutality of Castelan’s actions) within the courtroom. However, the same cannot be said outside of the court where an as yet unidentified woman asked for entry to the court to see her husband, Andrew Sant. The woman was quickly taken into custody for her own protection by The Constabulary after investigations revealed that her claim was true. Due to the possibility of reprisal against Sant and his relatives the media has been prevented from naming the woman, although this did not prevent photographs of her being published on the internet following the revelations. Finance, Legal, Media Who are Audax? The company seems to have made quiet a name for it's self recently, performing an audit of the city’s election procedures, developing means of reducing the amount of bureaucratic paperwork within the council, and now the representation of Andrew Sant at what is surely the trial of the decade. And all of this from a small scale company that started in Newcastle. Whilst Sant’s defence team have become well known (following their almost daily appearances on national television), still little is known about the company’s financers. This lack of faces is doing little to affect the share price of the company, which has risen steadily since the start of the year despite a number of high profile fluctuations within the market. Church, High Society, Media, Occult Whilst the investigations by members of the Vatican have focussed upon the operations of Crimson Jihad (sic) and the newly formed Scarlet in the area, the media has instead chosen to focus on the presence of one William Raymond in the group. William Raymond is apparently the brother of the former preacher Nicholas Raymond, who was killed at the start of 2002 following a botched attack on the masons. Understandably the church has been keen to downplay his presence in the city, but some have begun to speculate that the theft of a cross from a church in Shelton may have been a smokescreen to allow an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Raymond’s death (however, these same people also claim to be contacted by aliens on a regular basis). Investigations are set to continue. Church, Legal, Politics With the presence of William Raymond in the city some politicians are beginning to ask for a full enquiry into the events surrounding his brother’s death. The matter was supposedly investigated by Castelan at the time, but subsequent investigations of their records show that no investigation took place. Others have questioned whether it is wise to dig up the past in this way, but the renewed public interest in the issue may be pushing some politicians to launch an enquiry. Bureaucracy, Politics, Transport Large parts of the Staffordshire Moorlands are to be closed off for the evening of July 31st 2004 to allow works to road surfaces to be carried out. The decision was made following a rise in the number of fatal road accidents in the area, some of which were attributable to the poor road surface. The area is set to be reopened on the Monday following the completion of works.